Burning Smell in New York is From a New Jersey Brush Fire

The New York City skyline is obscured by smoke thanks to a smoky haze caused by a brush fire in New Jersey.

Reuters

UPDATED | New Yorkers around the city woke up Monday morning to a thick, smoky smell reminiscent of the area around a hot dog cart.

But the odor, at least this time, didn’t originate from the city’s streets: it was the product of a brush fire some 90 miles away in New Jersey, authorities said.

The fire was at Wharton State Forest in Atlantic County, but unique wind patterns spread the smoke, and its scent, to the metro area.

“The smell is moving in that direction based on the winds…and strong winds can carry smoke far distances,” said Valerie Meola, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “It’s going to continue to flow in this direction for the next couple of hours.”

The smell may have alarmed some city residents on their way to work, but New Jersey authorities said the blaze, which began overnight and spread for acres, is now 70% contained without reports of injuries or damage. The smoke was no longer visible in Midtown by around noon.

Eric Arper, information office for Burlington County, said officials hope to have the fire contained by the end of the day.

“There’s rain moving in which should help,” said Ms. Meola.

The city Office of Emergency Management issues an air quality advisory until 11 p.m. People with respiratory problems should “reduce outdoor activity,” officials said.

This isn’t the first time New Jersey has taken the blame for an odd smell in the city. In 2009, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed the source of the on-again, off-again fragrance of maple syrup in the air:

The aroma has popped up at odd hours, prompting uncontrollable pancake cravings at Health Blog HQ. But many in the Big Apple were a little freaked out by the mysterious odor. Was it something dangerous? Was it a harbinger of trouble, maybe even some sort of test before a biological attack?

We’ll level with you. We always suspected New Jersey. Ever since the landfill on Staten Island closed, who in New York doesn’t look to the Garden State when it comes to bad smells? Before you think we’re prejudiced, consider the prevailing winds are usually blowing our way from Bayonne.

Well, we were right all along. Today, the case was closed. Mayor Bloomberg held a press conference a little while ago and revealed that a flavor and fragrance company called Frutarom was the culprit. The source of the smell was fenugreek seeds. The AP reported that New Jersey and city officials say the Frutarom factory didn’t appear to be violating any rules or regulations.

Monday’s smell was especially pronounced in northern parts of New Jersey, people said. Dwayne Robinson, a 32-year-old, doorman in Jersey City, said “I could smell it when I got off the light rail” at 7:30 a.m.

“I was getting complaints from residents from early this morning, who could smell it because it got sucked into the ventilation. The complaints stopped around 10 a.m.,” he said.

And Patty Stinziano, an employee at a financial firm in Jersey City, said it “kind of smelled like a chemical plant was on fire. I didn’t see the smoke. And until you told me where the smoke was coming from, I had no idea that it was from a fire so far away.”

Corrections and Amplifications: This article has been changed to reflect the correct spelling of Patty Stinziano’s last name. It was previously spelled Stiniziano.